The car we hired in Malta (a badly dented Ford Fiesta) was arranged by easyCar, but provided through a local rental company. When we arrived in Malta, the local agent informed us that we had an excess of 700 euros and would have to pay 49 euros to reduce this. I explained, however, that we had already chosen the Zero Risk option through easyCar - reducing our excess to zero. The local agent insisted this was not the case.

easyCar advise on their agreement documentation that Zero Risk customers should not make further payments to local contractors; however, it did not seem sensible to drive around in a foreign country when the local agent was adamant that we were not fully covered - after all, administrative errors do happen. So I paid up, believing that easyCar could easily sort this out with their sub-contractor when we arrived back home.

But easyCar were not prepared to intervene on our behalf - pointing out that we had been warned on our hire documentation that their agents might attempt to overcharge us. This suggests to me that such instances of over-charging are commonplace: if this is due to easyCar's inadequate communication with their local agents, then this should be examined; if it is due to intentional dishonesty by local agents then easyCar should not continue to leave their customers open to this abuse - and immediately cease dealing with these agents. In either case, they should at least attempt to put things right, instead of washing their hands.

I will continue to fly with easyJet, as I genuinely believe that they offer good value and customer service. In my experience, however, these standards have not yet been adopted by the car-rental arm of the organisation.